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JLPT N5Existence

いる / ある— Verbs of Existence

Japanese uses two different verbs for 'to exist / there is,' chosen by whether the subject is animate (living, self-moving) or inanimate. いる is for animate things (people, animals); ある is for inanimate things (objects, plants).

Grammar path · 練習

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A short lesson: the pattern, its sentence anatomy, a quick quiz and a sentence to build.

Pro lessonUNIT 25 · EXISTENCE

Structure · 形

[Animate Noun] が いる | [Inanimate Noun] が ある

Examples · 例文

  • 宇宙人がいる！

    Uchuujin ga iru!

    Aliens exist!

    宇宙人 (aliens — living beings) + が + いる (animate existence)

  • 時間がない。

    Jikan ga nai.

    I have no time.

    時間 (time — inanimate) takes ある; its plain negative is irregular → ない

  • 庭に犬がいる。

    Niwa ni inu ga iru.

    There is a dog in the garden.

    犬 (dog — animate) + が + いる; an inanimate thing like a ball would take ある

Usage notes · 注意

  • Vehicles: Cars and planes move, but have no will of their own → treated as objects (車がある).
  • Plants: Trees are alive but don't move on their own → objects (木がある).
  • The 'living being' rule is about self-directed movement/will, not literally being alive.

Commonly confused with

The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones いる is tested against.

vsあります／います (polite) vs ある／いる (plain)

Same meaning; あります/います are the polite forms used in ます-style speech, while ある/いる are plain/casual.

vsある (existence) vs 持っている (possession)

お金がある = money exists / I have money (general). お金を持っている = I am carrying/holding money right now (physical possession on hand).

More existence

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